Barcode Requirements
Common reasons for failing verification reports:
1. A Quiet Zone is too narrow (a Quiet Zone is the blank margin on either side of the barcode. Most failed verification reports are because the Right Quiet Zone was too narrow – in general it should be at least 2.31mm wide. We recommend making it slightly wider than this is to allow for any possible ink spread or registration problems).
2. The Decodability is low (the barcode bars are blurred and not sharp)
3. The barcode is too small
4. Printing issue (ink spread, low quality printer etc)
EAN-13 Barcode Symbol Dimensions:
Magnification:
The specified magnification range for an EAN-13 Bar Code Symbol being scanned at retail POS 80% – 200% (X-dimension 0.26mm-0.66mm).
|
Magnification |
X-dimension |
Width |
Bar height |
Left Quiet Zone |
Right Quiet Zone |
|
80% |
0.26 |
25.08 |
18.28 |
2.90 |
1.85 |
|
85% |
0.28 |
26.65 |
19.42 |
3.09 |
1.96 |
|
90% |
0.30 |
28.22 |
20.57 |
3.27 |
2.08 |
|
95% |
0.31 |
29.78 |
21.71 |
3.45 |
2.19 |
|
100% |
0.33 |
31.35 |
22.85 |
3.63 |
2.31 |
|
105% |
0.35 |
32.92 |
23.99 |
3.81 |
2.43 |
|
110% |
0.36 |
34.49 |
25.14 |
3.99 |
2.54 |
|
115% |
0.38 |
36.05 |
26.28 |
4.17 |
2.66 |
|
120% |
0.40 |
37.62 |
27.42 |
4.36 |
2.77 |
|
125% |
0.41 |
39.19 |
28.56 |
4.54 |
2.89 |
|
130% |
0.43 |
40.76 |
29.71 |
4.72 |
3.00 |
|
135% |
0.45 |
42.32 |
30.85 |
4.90 |
3.12 |
|
140% |
0.46 |
43.89 |
31.99 |
5.08 |
3.23 |
|
145% |
0.48 |
45.46 |
33.13 |
5.26 |
3.35 |
|
150% |
0.50 |
47.03 |
34.28 |
5.45 |
3.47 |
|
155% |
0.51 |
48.59 |
35.42 |
5.63 |
3.58 |
|
160% |
0.53 |
50.16 |
36.56 |
5.81 |
3.70 |
|
165% |
0.54 |
51.73 |
37.70 |
5.99 |
3.81 |
|
170% |
0.56 |
53.30 |
38.85 |
6.17 |
3.93 |
|
175% |
0.58 |
54.86 |
39.99 |
6.35 |
4.04 |
|
180% |
0.59 |
56.43 |
41.13 |
6.53 |
4.16 |
|
185% |
0.61 |
58.00 |
42.27 |
6.72 |
4.27 |
|
190% |
0.63 |
59.57 |
43.42 |
6.90 |
4.39 |
|
195% |
0.64 |
61.13 |
44.56 |
7.08 |
4.50 |
|
200% |
0.66 |
62.70 |
45.70 |
7.26 |
4.62 |
An allowable minimum magnification of 75% (X-dimension 0.25mm) is applicable only to on demand (e.g. thermal) print processes. In this case, the bar height should never be truncated below the minimum required height for an 80% magnification barcode symbol.
Where an item may also be scanned in a General Distribution Scanning environment (automated scanning), the allowable magnification range is 150% to 200% (X-dimension 0.50mm – 0.66mm).
Human Readable Interpretation:
The barcode number (the “Human Readable Interpretation”) should be printed beneath the barcode symbol. Any font or character size is acceptable, as long as the digits are clearly legible.
The recommended typeface is OCR-B at a height of 2.75mm at standard size (100% magnification, X-dimension 0.33mm) – however this is a recommendation only.
Quality of printed barcode:
To pass a verification report a printed barcode image needs to be of good quality. There needs to be a high degree of contrast between the black bars and the colour of the background, and the barcode bars should have sharp edges.
We recommend that you either get your barcode professionally printed or use a laser printer (if printing it yourself).
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